Bottomley House:
Built in 1912 by Yorkshire-born real estate developer Richard
Bottomley as his private residence, this house bears the finest
features of the Queen Anne Revival architectural style, a rare
design for Saskatoon. Its bell-cast turret, irregular roofs,
elegant columns and spindled, wraparound veranda express a
fancifulness and extravagance in keeping with the Saskatoon boom,
during which Bottomley invested $1.5 million in city tracts and
surrounding farmland.
One of the first homes in the district (1118 College Drive) and
located opposite the gates of the University of Saskatchewan,
Bottomley House lent character and permanence to the growing
University area. It was later home to another land developer,
Frederick Kerr, whose many investments included 800 acres of
University property, and key tracts for City Park and Second Avenue
development.
With financial assistance from the City’s Heritage
Conservation Program, Bottomley House was restored and continues to
grace one of Saskatoon's first thoroughfares. The Bottomley House
was designated as Municipal Heritage Property on April 24,
2006.
Memorial Gates
"These are they who went forth from this University to the Great
War and gave their lives that we might live in freedom.” -
Inscription on the Memorial Gates.
Sixty-seven University students and faculty lost their lives while
on service during World War I. In August 1918, three months prior
to the formal armistice, President Walter Murray began making
enquiries regarding the cost of memorial plaques. Two years
earlier, the Board of Governors had authorized an “Honor
Roll” of names for all associated with the University who
served, be added to the College Building. The impact of the war on
the University was immense: 330 students and faculty served during
the War, a number equivalent to nearly all students who had
registered the year prior to the beginning of the conflict. In
1916-17 Engineering closed its doors as all students and faculty
enlisted.
Architect David R. Brown estimated the Gates would cost $30,000,
with an additional $10,000 required for the memorial. Students and
alumni fund-raising helped with a portion of the costs. The gates
were made of solid bronze, imported from England; the remainder,
made of local greystone.
The Memorial Gates were unveiled by President Murray and dedicated
by the Bishop of Saskatchewan on 3 May 1928; and for many years
thereafter the site was used for the University’s Remembrance
Day services. Wreaths are still laid at the site every November
11th.
The location of the Gates was on the spot envisioned in the
original campus plan as the main entrance to the University. It
became the primary roadway to the Royal University Hospital, and in
the late 1980s various plans were considered to help ease the flow
of traffic through the area, including moving the Gates to another
area of campus. The design finally accepted left the Gates in their
original location as a pedestrian entrance way, with traffic
re-routed to the west.